Surprise
by ANBUShizuka
Summary: Lucy is waiting, anxiously, for Erza to return from a job. But in the meantime, she manages to get Mirajane to tell her a story. And this only gives Lucy ideas. Erza x Lucy one-shot


_A/N: My first true attempt at a Fairy Tail one-shot. That isn't...alternate universe... This is dedicated to the girl who has managed to make me smile in less than a minute every day for the past month. Thank you, my knight in shining armor; you make my days worthwhile. ;)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or any affiliated characters, places, things, or events._

[X]

Magic was, to many, a tool that could be used for various jobs. For others, it was simply a means to an end, serving a singular purpose. Yet, for the blonde Stellar Spirit Mage of Fairy Tail, it was a way to show the growth of one's spirit and love. Lucy sat on one of the various tables in the main area of the guild, face cupped by her own palms as she sat impatiently. Sighing heavily, she watched as the other members milled about and talked amongst themselves. Her amber-brown eyes settled on the door. There was no movement near it, no hint of someone going or coming back. A gentle hand settled on her shoulder and Lucy jumped a little, turning to see Mirajane staring worriedly at her. "Lucy-san, is there something wrong?"

"No," the blonde pouted, puffing out her cheeks. She grumbled, "But she's late..."

Bright blue eyes sparkled merrily as the older female chuckled. She said, "You know you can never guarantee when she'll be back. If someone asks for help when she's on her way back, you've seen that she can't say no." Sitting beside her friend, the white-haired mage sighed happily. "She's always been like that, I guess. Even when we were younger. I was such a brat back then."

"Mira-san? I can't possibly imagine you as a brat. I mean, you guys have told me stories and all but still," Lucy gasped. She toyed gently with the keys at her waist, running a thumb over the cool metal. "Can you tell me some more stories about when you were kids?"

"Oh, sure! Well, there was this one time- I think that we were about thirteen at the time- that we decided that we were going to pull a prank on Master. But we couldn't decide on whose plan to use: mine or Erza's. Mine was to throw paint balloons at Master when he sat down for a meeting with us." Mirajane paused, laughing to herself. "Not very bright but I just wanted to do something outraeous because I knew it would shock Erza. She was so devoted to Master that I didn't imagine she would come up with something really good."

Lucy grinned, "But she did?"

"Oh, yeah, she did. She actually took my idea and one-upped me. Her idea was to plant a paint balloon inside of Master's favorite pillow and- when he sat on it- use magic to set it off and cover him in paint from the bottom up." A sheepish grin came to the idol's face as she giggled, "I didn't want to admit that her plan was better so I foolishly stuck to my idea while she did hers."

The blonde inquired, "You guys got busted, didn't you?" At the look of feigned shame on Mirajane's face, the Stellar Spirit Mage laughed, "You did! What did Master do? How did he punish you guys?"

"Well...when he learned that it was a plan to outdo one another, he made us kiss and make up." An unamused pout came to her face as she growled, "Literally."

"No way! You and Erza have-" Shock and disappointment came to Lucy's brown eyes as she stared in disbelief at her friend. Mirajane, feeling bad for the comment, grasped the blonde's hands and sighed sadly. "What is it, Mira-san?"

"We have but not by choice. And it was very awkward. It was just a peck, mind you, but I still maintain that she's a horrible kisser." With a giggle and a wink, Mirajane slipped off the table and said, "Well, I've gotta go finish that cake for tomorrow. Play nice, Lucy-san!"

"Huh? What do you-" Lucy was cut off as the door to the guild slammed open, revealing a haggard looking Erza. The redhead raised her eyes to look around the room, scanning the smiling faces for certain people. Then, their eyes met. "Erza..."

A smile spread across Erza's face and the tiredness seemed to drop away in an instant. She rushed forward, weaving through the rowdy group of Fairy Tail members to get to the blonde girl. "Lucy!" Finally, the armor-wearing mage stood breathless in front of the Stellar Spirit Mage. "Lucy...hey."

"Hey," Lucy smiled softly. She leapt forward, throwing her arms around the other woman's strong shoulders. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just tired. It was a long job," sighed Erza. She glanced at her companion, noting the amused smirk. "What's with you? You've got a look like you've got a secret." Then, thinking about possible scenarios, the redhead quipped, "Did someone fall in love with you again?"

"No, Erza," groaned the blonde.

"Did Natsu and Grey fight again?" Perfectly formed eyebrows drew together.

"Nope," giggled Lucy, "they do that all the time."

Confused, Erza asked, "Well, what is it then?"

"Nothing! You'll see tomorrow!" She grasped her friend's hand, tugging it lightly. "You wanna stay the night? Usually, if one of you comes over, the other two will leave me alone for the night. Unless Natsu and Grey find a 'fun' job to do."

The taller woman scowled, suddenly suspicious. "Ok. But you know something."

"Possibly. Just c'mon! I have some dinner waiting back at my flat." Waving to Mirajane, the blonde shouted, "Later, Mira-san! Thanks!"

"Not a problem, Lucy-san! Bye, Erza!" called the white-haired demon.

Holding Erza's hand the entire way, the shorter mage questioned, "So, how'd the job go?"

Rolling her eyes in exasperation at the reminder, the other woman grumbled, "Successfully. But it was ridiculous. They had some kind of issue with a local guild that had recently turned illegal. And all of them happened to use some kind of magic that took away one of the senses. So, I literally fought blind, deaf and whatever else you can think of. It was insane!"

"I bet." Climbing the stairs, Lucy and Erza entered the apartment and took turns bathing, getting ready for bed. "Well, I wonder what we'll do tomorrow."

"Probably hang out at the guild unless the boys come up with some crazy job for us to do. How'd Juvia fare on her job with Grey?" asked Erza. She combed through her long, red hair; the woman sat on the edge of Lucy's bed, one leg folded under her bottom while the other was folded up to her chest. She grinned, seeing the sly look on her friend's face. "He finally told her, didn't he?"

"Yep! Finally! I thought he'd be stubborn about it the entire time!" Lucy groused. She threw her hands in the air as she sat at the top of the bed, crossing her legs as she did so. "Juvia was so happy, she didn't even care how long it took him to say it! Thank god. He'd be so torn up if she had suddenly moved on."

A blank look came to the slightly older girl's features as she snickered, "Juvia? Move on? Yeah, right. She's a Grade A stalker for Grey. She's adorable though, so I guess she can get away with it."

Nodding her head, Lucy yawned. "Sheesh. What a long day. Ready to go to sleep?" Erza smiled, nodding in response. The pair crawled beneath the plush blanket on Lucy's bed. As they dozed off, Lucy vaguely felt an arm fall possessively across her waist and she couldn't stop the content smile that came to her lips as she curled closer to the strong woman.

[X]

"Hey, Erza, time to wake up," cooed Lucy. She shook her friend's shoulder gently. Seeing dark brown eyes open groggily, the girl giggled and said, "C'mon, sleepy. Master is having a meeting for all of us in a few minutes. Let's go."

The redhead sat up, eyelids still at half mast. She glanced around and tiredly asked, "Lucy, why didn't you sleep in a little longer? I was warm."

Lucy felt a faint blush rise to her cheeks as she spun on her heel and stammered, "W-well, I just remembered the meeting and knew that we had to get up." Glancing over her shoulder, she realized that she had looked just in time to see Erza re-quip to her normal attire.

Yawning, the knight said, "All right. Let's go, I guess..." As they walked out the door, the taller woman took Lucy's hand and asked, "So, what's been with you? You're acting weird. It's kinda throwing me off."

"Oh, it's nothing," the blonde replied mysteriously. They made their way to Fairy Tail and, before entering, Lucy turned to her friend and said, "Thank you for staying with me last night. I've bee having trouble sleeping here recently."

A look of understanding entered the redhead's eyes as she smiled softly. "Hey, it's no problem. Anytime, ok?"

"Yeah. Anytime." Pushing the door open, the women were greeted with a burst of noise and excitement.

"Happy birthday, Erza!" called the members of Fairy Tail. Whoops and hollers of "Titania" and "Yo, Erza" were heard as Lucy giggled and backed out of the spotlight.

Erza threw a confused look at her friend and questioned, "But how-"

"Happy birthday, Erza," laughed Mirajane. She threw her arms around her best friend's shoulders and announced, "I made strawberry cake for you!"

"Strawberry cake?" The excitement in Erza's voice was undeniable and she quickly grabbed Lucy's hand and tugged her along as they followed Mirajane to the bar. Master Makarov stood on the bar, smiling brightly at the trio of women. "Master!"

"Happy birthday, m'girl. Wup. Here come your brothers," chuckled the old man. He pointed towards the entrance where Natsu and Grey ran through, Juvia trailing them, excitedly shouting and racing one another.

"Guys!" called Erza.

"Happy birthday, Erza!" cried the boys. They hugged her simultaneously, slapping her hard on the back and laughing happily. The three stood together, chuckling and talking quietly.

"Now, everyone listen up! We're all here to celebrate Erza Scarlet's twenty-first birthday. As you all know, she has grown here and become a pillar to Fairy Tail's existence. And for that, I am eternally grateful. My girl, happy birthday. And enjoy your cake." Then, as the old man sat down on his favored pillow, a blast of purple liquid burst up and covered him. Eyes opening slowly, he pointed a glare at the girl. "Erza..." His tone was full of warning.

"It wasn't me!" exclaimed the redhead. Frantically, she looked at Mirajane, only to see a bemused look of shock on her face. Suddenly, giggled broke out from behind her and she turned to see Lucy doubled over in a fit of laughter. "Lucy? It was you?"

"Happy birthday, Erza," the blonde whispered as she wrapped her arms around the taller mage and softly pressed their lips together. Everyone in the room gave a surprised cry and several cat calls sprung up. But they kept the contact for a moment or two longer, lingering even as they pulled back to breathe. "At least I wasn't trying to one-up you though."

Erza smirked and pressed several soft, short kisses to the blonde's mouth. "How did you know about- oh. Mira."

"Yeah." With a wink, the blonde looked over her shoulder and said, "She's actually a great kisser, just for your information. Not that you'll ever need to know."

Mirajane laughed, "That's true."


End file.
